Ilitch Family Secures Site For Possible New Red Wings Arena

The Ilitch family’s Olympia Development LLC has secured funding from the state of Michigan “to raze a vacant, dilapidated building ... in the area long rumored to be the preferred site” of a new Red Wings arena, according to Louis Aguilar of the DETROIT NEWS. The site includes several blocks west of the Fox Theatre complex, which houses Ilitch Holdings Inc. A deadline is “fast approaching ... on whether to build a hockey arena or renovate” the city of Detroit-owned Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings’ lease with the city expires in ’09. Ilitch Holdings said that a final decision “hasn’t been made about a new arena.” The family said in a statement, “Our organization is continuing to evaluate all options –- from a remodel of Joe Louis Arena to the building of a new arena at a new location” (DETROIT NEWS, 4/5).